Fissiparous
by Blood.Drop.Lolita
Summary: Just some insight into a life that wasn't meant to be remembered. Based around the time after the big party in SIGN. Eventual light SoraElk, rated T to cover all the basics.
1. Introduction

I do not own .hack or any of its branches, sadly. I only own the story and the ideas it contains.

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Intro**

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_Fissiparous: describes an organism that reproduces by dividing into two equal parts, each of which grows into a complete organism._

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Sora opened his eyes and rubbed his head groggily. He felt like he had been hit with a semi. He was in the middle of a dungeon that he did not remember accessing, but knowing him and his tendency to blank out he wasn't too alarmed. Today had been a tiring day for him.

He perked his ears up and leaped onto a fold in the wall, definitely a dungeon found in one of the darker worlds judging from the colour of the intestines that gnarled like roots and the pulsating lump of flesh he stood on. The twin-blade narrowed his eyes to peer into the darkness to see a small figure walking slowly under him.

He smile coyly, "Mhmm...hmmhmm" He chuckled to himself and smiled broadly.

It was extremely rare to see a wavemaster by themself. They were slow and had almost no physical defense. Their only skill was that they were well versed in magic and most could paralyze a PlayerKiller with Rip Suvi, waddle away, and gate out.

"He seems so weak..." Sora observed him further, stalking him to the lower levels of the dungeon. The PKer had to stifle a laugh when the wavemaster was startled by an Invisible Egg's chanting.

_Pathetic._

The wavemaster stopped and lowered his staff, looking around and turning over a skeleton nervously. He withdrew quickly with it crumbled apart and the skull rolled over to his feet and stared up at him.

Sora lay on his stomach on the blobs of flesh on the walls and cocked his head to the side curiously. He had to greatly strain his ears, as the wavemaster was so soft-spoken.

"Oh... but Mia said there was Aromatic Grass here... did I go to the wrong field...?" He said to himself as he turned away from the still loaded treasure chest.

"Why isn't…" He made a noise as the blue and slate colored blades closed around his throat. If he were to move just an inch, the blades would easily slice into his skin. He couldn't move; he was to afraid.

"So what's a little wavemaster like you doing wondering around a dungeon like this, hmm?" Sora raised his eyebrows and smirked from behind him.

"I...I'll give you whatever you want... please don't k-kill m-me... I have... a lot of rare items, you... you could _sell_ them..." He had been adventuring to several areas before coming here... he had collected so much Aromatic Grass for Mia and a few rare items for Kite, and he hadn't bothered to save...

Six hours... gone to waste.

"Oh?" Sora allowed his blades to slack off a bit. The boy dashed away and held his staff up protectively in front of him. He made as much space between he and his pursuer. It was so dark in here... He really wished he could see the man's face, so as to know who to avoid in Root Towns.

"What did you have in-" Sora's sentence was ended abruptly as the wavemaster used a Sprite Ocarina and gated out to the field. He blew some air through his nose. Now that kid was on the field, he would leave immediately. That was unlike him, letting his prey go. But, he was supposed to be a good boy now.

"Old habits die hard." He smiled and hopped back onto his flesh lumps as he heard the echoing laughter of another party coming through the area.

_Maybe a _little _fun wouldn't hurt…_


	2. Proper Introduction

Chapter 1: Proper Introduction

"Ow... I hate those monsters." Elk healed himself after his battle with the "Armor Generals". They were weak against magic, but they were fast, and they liked to pincer attack... if you got caught in one of their combos soloing, consider yourself dead.

"This is the last floor... so where's the Gott Statue...?" He looked to the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

"How irritating..." He sighed there were four rooms that looked like they housed the Gott Statue. It was always like that, it seemed. That in itself would often either cost him his life or force him to leave the area to restock, restart, and end up doing the entire cycle over again. To make it simple, he could work at something for hours and get absolutely nothing done.

Thankfully, there were no more monster portals, but he kept his guard up and cast a few protective spells over him... incase of PKs. They were getting more numerous lately. He was often forced to solo, what with Kite being so busy in the Net Slum, and Mia... never being around anymore. He didn't have any friends to go adventuring with... so what else was he supposed to do? Kite might need him and Mia might show up and want to talk to him... so he was always online now. He no longer ignored Kite's flashmail like he had when they first met, but even found himself skipping school sometimes, waiting around online.

He trudged along through the beautifully decorated hallways. He was in a water area, in one of the castles. He adored the sound of his footsteps against the cold marble, and how the echoed in the hallways. These were some of his most favourite places to go. Hardly ever was there aromatic grass to be found here, but some days he liked to just devote to himself, even though he knew how incredibly selfish that was. Why, yesterday-

"Alone again? Don't you have any friends to play with?" Came a voice from behind him.

Elk was startled out of his musing by the voice. He looked around and could not find its source. He held up his staff in front of him, ready to cast a summon spell if and when they showed themselves.

"Mn…" He backed away absent mindedly and ended up cornering himself as he often did.

The person leaped down behind him and encased his neck in blades again, "So, you thought you could dupe me and then just get away with it?"

It took him a moment, but upon glancing down at the blades and hearing the person's voice, he knew exactly who it was, "I…"

"Congrats." Sora grinned, baring his teeth, and pulled away from Elk, "I think you're the second person to be able to do that, and I've been playing this game for a long time. Even then, I went easy on you. I think your member address will suffice for payment, don't you?"

Elk was taken aback, one moment the man was about to carve him up the next he was smiling and laughing and asking to be friends.

"Um… w.. why..? I mean, why would you want to be friends with me…?"

"Because you know if you refused I'll send your head rolling on the ground, and keep stalking you until you accept." Sora chuckled, "I've seen you. You're the one who hangs out with Kite and that female cat. So I'm not a total stranger."

"Then why've I never seen you before, and how do you know Kite..?" Elk asked curiously, lowering his staff some.

The twin-blade shrugged, "We used to be friends, I guess. We met about three months ago and he's only asked me to hang out with him a couple times so I guess we're more like those people you know that hang around your friends and you can get along by talking about the weather and then everything else is really… awkward. You know?"

No, he didn't. "I.. I guess." Elk gave him his member address and Sora's grin widened.

"Hey, thanks now I can bug you all the time and maybe you won't be such an easy target now. I'm Sora, by the way."

"Elk." He nodded somewhat, "Hey, aren't you going to give me your address?"

"Nope."

"Why..?"

"Gotta earn it." He winked and vanished.

Elk stared at the spot where Sora had stood and blinked, then giggled quietly.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.


	3. Accredited

Chapter 2: Accredited

Elk wandered around Carmina Gatelica aimlessly. He had been there for a few hours now. Kite had said he wanted to meet him today so they could go for an adventure and catch up. Elk signed and sat on the stone walls that overlooked the inky waters below. He could gaze into the beautiful reflection of the night sky and tall buildings all day. Sometimes he found himself lost in the predictable ripples in the waters. The wavemaster often wished the moderators of the game would make it so you could explore under the water, and he had emailed them that suggestion at least twenty times. He smiled, imagining how wonderful it would look under there, what kind of treasures you could find… He then frowned because that would mean newer and more terrifying monsters that he would have to deal with.

"Hey there!" Came the familiar tone of Sora accompanied by a rough pat on the back. Elk squeaked and hoisted himself to a sitting position and gazed up at the twin-blade. He had never actually gotten to see the man's face. His sharp, crimson eyes were emphasized by curtains of shimmering emerald hair that lay against his sun-kissed skin. Hardly any of the face was visible due to his violet muffler and matching headband. Elk was amazed at how much different he looked than most twin-blades. He had never seen some of that equipment, nor that character style.

"HelloooOO?" He poked Elk in the forehead roughly, "Take a screen cap and you can stare at my pretty face all day. Right nowwww, you're just bein' rude." He plopped down beside Elk, his long legs dangling off the ground just enough so he could swing them back and forth against the wall.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm… a really absent minded sometimes…" He lowered his head.

Sora blinked and chuckled nervously, "Geez, calm down you act like I accused you of murder."

"No… Anyway, hi… how are you? You're on kinda early I normally don't see you log on until the evening time."

"Oh ho? Really. So you've been watching me." a wry smile creeped over Sora's face.

Elk hid his face behind his bangs, "No.. I just noticed is all I always keep my friend's list open."

"Really. So you can keep an eye on all two of your friends?" Sora rolled his eyes and chuckled, then stopped. He saw that comment really stung the wavemaster, "Sorry, sorry. I meant all four."

Elk shrugged, "I have a lot of people on my friend's list its just none of em ever contact me or live in different parts of the world so I rarely see em."

"They could still shoot you a quick mail, you know."

"I know… it doesn't bother me though." Elk lied.

There was a long silence after that. The blimps that passed over head like clockwork helped to fill that awkward silence for a few moments, at least.

"To answer your question I'm perfectly fine. Why are you sitting around here? Shouldn't you be out getting PK'd?"

"I'm waiting for Kite because he's supposed to meet me today. Sometimes he runs late at his job though and doesn't get to actually play the World."

"So you're waiting on someone who might not even show up."

"…I guess." Elk shrugged and made a face at the ground.

"Pfft. You're so _lame_." Sora looked down at him, his head cocked slightly to the side. His face was serious, no trace of his usual smirk or childish laughter.

Elk's shoulders slumped and he gripped his staff tightly. His face burned with shame; He felt so stupid right now. He knew other players saw him waiting for hours on a daily basis and probably thought he was some loser with no life of his own.

The truth hurt.

"Don't get all weepy on me." Sora said with a half chuckle, half irritated-growl.

The Chaos Gate beside them glowed and a familiar crimson-clad twin-blade emerged. He looked up at Elk.

"Hey, Elk. I sent you an invite how come-" Kite trailed off when he saw Sora, who saw him first.

"Well, if it isn't the bearer of the Bracelet. Haven't seen much of you lately." Sora sneered somewhat, voice being intentionally chilling. Elk looked up at him, puzzled. Was Sora aggravated with Kite because of him… no, it was probably because Kite had ignored the twin-blade so much.

"I've been busy, Sora, I told you that."

Sora snorted, "With what? The network crisis is over."

"I have a job as a virus hunter."

"Uh-huh. So you set in front of your terminal all day and look for bugs. It must be _sooo _fun being you, hmmhmm." Sora stroked his emerald hair thoughtfully, "Anyway, I was thinking of tagging along with you guys. I promise I'll be good." He smirked innocently.

Kite rubbed the back of his head... Sora wasn't too bad. He seemed almost normal at the party, dancing with Mistral, and conversing with Tsukasa... He even managed to get Blackrose's member address without threatening to PK her.

"Sure, but you'd better be true to your word." Kite said in a mock-stern tone.

"Of course~" Sora smiled and wrapped an arm around Elk's neck, dragging him close to his own body. Elk made a noise of shock as he was pulled over to the man, and then received a message that he had obtained Sora's member address.

"Uh... uh, what?" Elk looked at him in confusion and tried to squirm out of Sora's grip.

The taller twin blade grinned, baring his teeth, "You and me a buddies now!"

"Oh. Thank you?" He was happy to have the address but confused with the sudden curve the conversation had taken. Had he zoned out again?

"Aright then... Elk, invite me and Sora into your party." Kite said, turning his attention to the confined wavemaster, then to his captor "Sora, let him go so he can invite us."

"Hnph. You're no fun!" He pouted and released the grateful Elk, and he put several feet between them. The wavemaster had... never actually invited anyone to go anywhere, he was always the one being invited... it felt kind of nice, knowing he would be the leader this time.

Oh, wait... what was he THINKING? He was unable to lead after-school clean up when it was his turn...

"Um... o-okay..." He invited Kite and Sora into his party. Kite, accepted, Sora, declined.

"Sora, why-"

"Because I don't like being last." Sora shrugged. Neither one of them laughed. He frowned, "Geez, lighten up."

Elk invited him again, and he accepted after waiting around for a few moments. Sora was already to begin to wear on Kite's nerves.

"So... where are we going Kite?" Elk asked nervously.

"That's up to you. You're the leader of the party. If you want, we can go look for some Aromatic Grass for Mia. Maybe it would cheer her up."

"Y-Yeah...! Okay..." Elk nodded. He hadn't heard from Mia in over a week... he really hoped she wasn't in trouble again.

"You're looking for that kind of item? ...I know where you could find some." Sora said as they walked over to the Chaos Gate.

"You do?" Elk smiled slightly.

"Yup. Lambda Hidden Forbidden Tripansy."

With that they were transported to the area. It held none of the familiar traits of a grass holding land, and the map was absolutely littered with monster portals. Elk blinked and knitted his eyebrows in confusion, "Sora I don't think-"

"Trust me. I've played this game long enough to know where everything is."


	4. Understood

Basically a filler, but it serves purpose. :3

Chapter 3: Understood

"The enemies are strong for this server..." Kite said as Elk healed his wounds with Pha Repth.

"Yeah Yeah. Maybe CC Corp decided to do something right and stop making everything noob-friendly. C'mon, let's go to the dungeon~" Sora whined and circled them like a vulture would a carcass.

"M.. Maybe we should bring Balmung with us or something…" Elk adored traveling with Balmung. The winged man was able to make him feel safe just by standing beside him. For some reason, standing next to Sora did the same… and also made him feel like his space was being violated because the twin-blade enjoyed invading personal space each chance he got.

"Psh, we don't need him. Everyone knows that Twin Blades are the best character choice. We're fast, strong, and can do pretty much any skill we want. Now, Wavemasters are pretty much useless." He shrugged and moseyed off towards the dungeon, knowing the other two would follow.

Elk furrowed his eyebrows and trudged behind. His humiliation was further increased when Sora cast an _Ap-du _on him so he could keep up. His pale face, again, flushed to nearly match the colour of his eyes.

Once they reached the dungeon, Kite used a Fairy's Orb so they could reach the Gott Statue faster.

"You know, that kinda takes the fun out of adventuring if you've always gotta map to show you the layout of the area."

Kite chuckled, "No, its called preparing. Just because I can see the area I'm in doesn't mean that-"

"Yeah but it takes all the surprises out of it-"

"No it doesn't." Kite huffed, "For all we know the monster portal in the next room could have a treasure chest or a big hulking monster waiting for us."

"Guys?"

"So? With your cruddy map you know exactly which rooms contain portals and which don't. It _totally_ ruins the surprise!"

"Ugh. No, it keeps us from getting gameovers and not wasting precious potions and scrolls!"

"Guys…"

"Oh _please_, with the level we are do you really think we'll be needing to expend a million and on health drinks?"

"With you being so reckless, maybe! Who knows! It's always good to plan ahead-"

"But it takes all the fun out of itttt!" Sora whined.

Kite groaned in frustration and rubbed his forehead, "If you don't like it then turn off the map on your screen."

"But then I dunno where I'm going." He smiled.

"…"

"Guys."

"What, Elk?" Kite finally turned to him.

"Revive me?" Elk smiled sheepishly.

"Aw, how'd you go and off yerself with no monsters around?" Sora pushed his hand through Elk's ghostly head experimentally.

"There were monsters you two were just too busy talking." He flailed Sora's hand away, "stop that that looks really weird on my monitor."

"Stop what. This?" He wiggled his fingers inside his head and chuckled before withdrawing them when Kite revived Elk, "Hey I wonder if someone could glitch themselves into their teammate that way." He shot his blade out and grazed Elk's neck teasingly, "Care to let me find out?"

Blush creeped into the wave master's cheeks and he was forced to turn his gaze to the floor. He wanted to change the subject immediately, "…a-are you sure there's aromatic grass here?"

Sora withdrew his blade into its hilt on his wrist and lowered his arms. His stature became more serious, "It's in the Gott Statue."

Kite paused then signed, "Dammit."

"What is it Kite? Is something wrong?" Elk asked, concerned.

"Hrm…" Sora chuckled to himself and wandered away from the two.

"No… well, yes. I'm sorry Elk I have to go. There's been a reported outbreak in the Sigma sever and I-"

"It's ok Kite." He smiled emptily, "I'm sorry the quest wasn't very fun. How about next time we do an actual event so we've got something to aim for?"

"It was fun. Entertaining to say the least." He motioned to Sora, "But sure, an event quest would be great. I'll mail you tonight to set up a date. Later."

Elk watched as Kite gated out from the area. He felt something sink inside him as it always did when one of his friends left. He often felt he would never see them again. A hand rested on his shoulder and pulled him along to follow.

"Eh we'll have more fun without em anyway."

"I guess…"

"Tell me about Mia. I've seen her and talked to her, but I dunno her too good."

"You.. You've talk to Mia?"

"Yeah. Well… " He paused, "a form of her."

"What do you… Oh, you mean Macha…"

"Yeah. Love that little thing, she's adorable. Haven't seen her for a couple years though I guess CC Corp deleted her finally… sucks…"

Elk paused and made a face at the ground, but rather than get into a huge argument about the existence of Macha and Mia he simply nodded.

"So go on."

"I dunno she's just.. Everything I want to be."

"Well, I must say, you're doing a super job at the girl part." Sora smiled widely.

Elk giggled nervously, "Uh… yeah.. Anyway, she's strong and outgoing and I wish I could be more like that. And she's funny and pretty…"

"You ever seen a pic of her?"

"Well… no…"

"Then for all you know she's some forty year old guy who lives in his basement and collects figures of scantly clad lolicon girls."

"Mia IS Mia!" Elk said angrily, "Mia's REAL, unlike half the other people I've met here. Mia cares about me she's the ONLY ONE who's EVER cared about me." The wavemaster turned from Sora to walk on the opposite side of the hallway.

Sora sighed loudly. They walked this way down the long corridor for less than five seconds before Elk saw a message pop up in front of him that said

_UR 93771n9 7h3 h4n9 0f 17~_

Elk made a face, "What?"

"My god you really are a noob." Sora rolled his eyes, "come back over here and I'll tell you."

"No. Tell me now."

"Nah, I think I'll save it for when you stop pouting."

"You hurt my feelings…"

"How could I possibly hurt your feelings giving you advice."

"You insulted Mia…"

"No, I didn't. If I did you'd know it. I don't enjoy being discreet when it comes to insults. Now come back over here and I'll tell you something important."

The wavemaster hesitated and stayed on his side.

"Do I have to drag you over here?" Sora broke from his side and began to stride over to Elk's, "Hm. Nah I like it better over here. It's cozier." He squished Elk into the side of the wall gradually.

Elk sighed. It was going to be a long way to the bottom, considering they hadn't even gotten to leave the first room yet.


End file.
